DONE!!

Don't scroll down and get a sneak peak. 

You have been with me from the start. So let's finish this off together.

After cutting out the design, I used my pattern again to protect the back from the sand blasting.

What is it? Its my homemade sand blasting cabinet. I know it looks redneck, but it only cost $20 to make and it works. Stop laughing, lol

Wing inside the cabinet. Seriously, stop laughing, lol.

And after some time making a sand tornado in a box - Frosted acrylic.

Stage 3 DONE!

Assembly:

I measured 4 times and started drilling holes. 

This is a reenactment. I would never drill left handed.

Bolts and nuts. Slot A into tab B...

And now.....

drum roll.......

TA DA!!

I am very happy with the way it turned out. Based on some of the other finished casts, this looks to be the unofficial "Year of the Wings." I am so honored to have this displayed with the other great art pieces that I have seen so far. I also hope my wonderful lady who this represents likes it too.

Please check all of the finished casts out throughout Tulsa in the month of September. Also remember to follow Breast Impressions for more news on the gala Oct. 2nd and more upcoming events.

Thanks for following me on this journey, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

Stage 3 - Acrylic

Stage 1 (cast) and 2 (backdrop) are done. Just one more to go

The Acrylic! 

Why acrylic? For this piece I wanted a custom shape and I wanted it light weight for hanging on the wall.

I took the same pattern I used for the back drop and trimmed about 1 inch around for the new pattern.

Placed it on a nice sheet of 1/4" think acrylic.

2 outlines ready to be cut out.

For the acrylic, I use the big band saw.

The paper on the table is to eliminate scratching while I'm cutting and I can see my marks better. Dark marks on a dark table makes it tough.

And just like that, they are cut out. Spent some time sanding the edges to make them smooth. 

I took the pieces to the drafting table. I cover them with a clear vinyl covering.

I then copied the design on the vinyl. I take a sharp exacto knife and cut around the design, then remove the extra vinyl. 

Tomorrow is sand blasting and hopefully assembly! So close.

Paint done

Finished up the second coat of the pink fine paint. I think the pink really pops.

I highlighted the tips of pink with white and the dark side with purple.

Here's a detail shot. Looks better in person, promise

The next step is the acrylic and then we can assemble. 

I'm starting to see the end and I cant wait to see how it all looks together.

2nd coat

Quick post. Worked 3 hours adding a 2nd coat to the pink line work.

A little detail shot. Ignore the pencil lines, lol

Picking up the brush

Ready for the hand painting

Everything is drawn out.

The pink is coming along well.

I would have never thought to paint brown and pink. But it looks good.

1st coat is done. It needs a couple coats and some fine line work. 

More to come

Back on track

I am very glad to be back on track. 

Finished up the back drop. Through the magic of spray paint, I added the same texture I did with the bust background, but with brighter colors. DONE!

I moved back to the bust and started drawing out the fine lines that I will paint. 

I started with the lotus over the heart. Looks pretty close to the original drawing.

Then added the rest of the lines. 

They are there, really. Its tough seeing the pencil lines on brown.

I start the hand painting tomorrow. I feel behind, but positive it will get done.

Where am I ?

Where the heck have I been? Well, for those of you who do not know, I am a Curator at the Cherokee Heritage Center in Tahlequah. This week I have been setting up our annual Cherokee Homecoming art show with 192 pieces of artwork for a big reception Friday. This means long hours at work and away from the shop. But don't worry. Starting this weekend the paint, wood and acrylic will be flying!

As a preview of this years casts. Judi has been posting some on the Facebook page and they are AMAZING! I totally need to step my game up. They are some amazing artists.

Artist Mo Wassell of the Stillwater, Oklahoma area captured the spirit and personality of our survivor Marcenia with her beautiful work!

 Artist Lenora Davis captured the spirit of our survivor Jill who finds strength in butterflies

Weekend Post

Big Weekend update. 

I finally was able to add the last coat for the background colors for the cast. 

Adding layers of splatter and light coats of color gives a great texture. There is a soft dark brown coming from the base and yellow from the top to great a bit of lighting drama. This is ready for the detail paint job that I will hand paint on top. 

I wanted to start working on the back panel. 

I used the original scale drawing and used another piece of paper to create a template. I love light tables. 

I cut out the pattern and used it to outline the design on the wood.

Wood + band saw = sawdust.

After some cutting, sanding and repeating. 2 panels are ready. 

I want the back to be bright, so adding a white base will make the light colors brighter with less coats.

More to come this week.

Smoother

Sanded down the 2nd application on putty. Still had some fabric material sticking out. So if you cant sand it, burn it

Things are looking a lot smoother, but I wanted one more base coat before doing the final background paint job. 

Base coat looks good for tonight. I am hoping to make a lot of progress this weekend. Almost ready to do the fun stuff.

putty

Putty. The best cure for wrinkles, stretch marks, pores and cracks in putty. 

 

I sanded out the putty and realized there were some spots that were still bugging me. That OCD can be so frustrating. Another layer of putty and tomorrow I should be back to painting. 

I was also working on the detail painting design.

 

This will be a detail of a larger design that will be painted on the cast.  Think flower.

Different shade

I completed a base coat of the terracotta on the front. 

 Ooohhh That looks like a nasty burn.

I am going for a lighter effect overall, so I added a 2nd tone that will actually be seen. 

That's better. I added a couple coats of a tan and now I'm getting the color I wanted. 

Even after a few coats of paint, some cracks were still showing from the plaster so I wanted to fill those in before I put on the final coats

Patchy. I will sand it down tomorrow.

While the paint was drying I was able to work out my plexi design. I am very happy with it. 

It will look better on plexi, promise.

BTW - how am I doing? Leave some comments and let me know someone is watching. I enjoy feedback. Thanks

Color!!

The plaster set up great and the cast is pretty solid. I finished up the sanding and I'm ready to move on. 

No officer, I only use spray for good, never evil!

Color!  On large projects I use aerosol paint to do the background. Its fast, easy and great for blending colors.

I start with the back. It wont be seen too much, but it needs to match. I chose a terracotta color for a base, but I will make it lighter later.

I wanted to start the design for the Plexiglas. So I outlined the cast on paper while I painted the front.

The front is painted with one coat, but we have more to go. I may need to get some more spray paint too. Love that smell.

Flashback 2008

I know how excited everyone is to see some color, but before that I wanted to flashback a couple years. For those you didn't know this isn't my first rodeo, errr breast cast. 

I was honored enough to be chosen in 2008 and matched with cancer survivor Lyndi. The cast was made from her. Unfortunately, I was not able to meet or talk to her until the gallery show that year. I chose a design that came to me and luckily she said it was great and fit her.

The piece is created with aerosol/acrylic paint, mounted on sand carved Plexiglas with a wood background. The heart/ribbon design was carved in the corners of the Plexiglas to echo the theme. 

This is a teaser of the materials I will be using for this year cast, but it will be very different in theme and colors.

Thanks again to Judi and Lyndi for giving me this humbling and rewarding opportunity.

Keep sanding

I was still a bit nervous about the structure so I added a layer of webbing on the back and another layer of plaster. Its twice the weight, but I feel more confident. 

And of course, keep sanding. 

I should be able to finish the sanding tomorrow. Then Color!!

26 days. Adding structure

I needed to add more structure and braces to attach the back. so...

I needed to have straight edges for the back. So a quick fix with the belt sander. 

I wanted to braces across the back for stability

Okay, 4 screws and 2 wood braces. It looks more like Franken-boobs, but it will look nice in the end. 

More plaster around the braces and another coat on top. 

The color will come soon, promise.